What’s the beef with farmers’ inheritance tax?

Published

8 months ago

November 19, 2024

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Farmers have left the fields for the streets of the capital in protest at changes to inheritance tax that will see death duties payable by some farmers on agricultural and business property.

The Treasury estimates the changes, revealed in the budget, will raise up to £520m a year. Farmers and campaigners say they threaten the future of thousands of multi-generational family farms.

Here, we take a look at the issues involved to explain why farmers are angry.

What is inheritance tax?

Inheritance tax (IHT) is ordinarily payable on estates at 40%. Estates passed to a surviving spouse or civil partner, charity or community sports club are exempt, and there are reliefs on property passed to children, relatives and others.

Estates worth less than £325,000 are not taxed, with a further £175,000 of relief given if a home is left to children or grandchildren, giving a total of £500,000 tax free. Currently around 4% of estates are liable for IHT.

What are the plans for inheritance tax on farmers?

Since 1984 farmers and agricultural land and business owners have been exempt from IHT, thanks to a series of tax “reliefs” that can be applied to estates.

There are two broad categories, both offering 100% relief. Agricultural Property Relief (APR), covers land and farm buildings, and Business Property Relief (BPR) applies to livestock, machinery such as tractors and combine harvesters, and assets developed to diversify income, such as cottages converted to short-term lets, or farm shops.

From 2026 those 100% reliefs will end, replaced by limited relief for farmers on more generous terms than general IHT.

Estates will receive relief of £1m, with up to £500,000 of additional relief, as with non-farming estates. If a farm is jointly-owned by a couple in a marriage or civil partnership, the relief doubles from £1.5m to £3m.

Any tax owed beyond the level of relief will be charged at 20%, half the standard 40%. If farms are gifted to family members at least seven years before death no IHT is payable.

Why is the government acting?

Those generous reliefs have made agriculture an attractive investment for those seeking to shelter wealth from the taxman. Jeremy Clarkson, the UK’s highest profile farmer – and opponent of the government’s plans – said as much when promoting his Amazon series about becoming the proprietor of Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire.

“Land is a better investment than any bank can offer. The government doesn’t get any of my money when I die. And the price of the food that I grow can only go up,” he told the Times.

Mr Clarkson is far from alone. Private and institutional investors, along with so-called “lifestyle” farmers funding purchases from previous careers, like the former Top Gear presenter and his Oxfordshire neighbour, the Blur bassist Alex James, now dominate agricultural land purchases.

Figures from land agents Strutt & Parker show those three categories made up more than half of all agricultural land purchases in England last year, with just 47% bought by traditional farmers.

In the first three quarters of this year the figure is down to 31%, fewer than the 35% of purchases made by private investors. (Strutt & Parker stress that less than 1% of land changes hands every year and the majority remains in the hands of farmers and traditional landowners.)

The most valuable estates also receive the lion’s share of tax relief. Analysis by the Resolution Foundation shows 6% of estates worth more than £2.5m claimed 35% of APR, and 4% of the most valuable accounted for 53% of BPR in 2020.

In the budget the Treasury said “it is not fair or sustainable for a very small number of claimants each year to claim such a significant amount of relief”.

How many farms does the government say will be affected?

The government says around a quarter of farms will be impacted by the changes, based on the annual tally of claims for Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief made in the event of a farm owners’ death.

The latest figures for APR, for 2021-22, show that for estates worth more than £1m and therefore potentially exposed to the new regime, there were 462 claims, 27% of the total.

More than 340 claims were in the £1m-£2.5m band, with 37 claims from estates claiming more than £5m of relief, at an average of £6.35m.

For Business Property Relief, which also includes shares held on unlisted markets including the London AIM market, there were 552 claims for more than £1m, or 13% of the total, with 63 claims worth more than £5m in relief, at an average value of £8m.

While ministers insist smaller farms will be protected, the merging of APR and BPR seems certain to increase the value of estates for IHT purposes. New tractors and combine harvesters are six-figure investments, and farmers say rising land values mean the reliefs are less generous than the government maintains.

What do farmers say?

Farmers and campaigners say the government’s figures are far too low. The Country Landowners Association estimates 70,000 farms could be affected, a figure reached by multiplying average arable land value by the average farm size that they conceded should be treated with caution.

The National Farmers’ Union points to figures from the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs, which show 49% of farms in England had a net value of more than £1.5m. On that basis almost 50,000 farm owners may need to consult an accountant.

The NFU’s central point is that the economics of farming mean levying inheritance tax could be ruinous for many. While farmers and agricultural landowners are asset rich, courtesy of their land, property and equipment, they are cash poor.

Average income in every category of cropping farms declined in 2023, with cereals revenue falling by 200% year-on-year, and average earnings across the board of less than £50,000.

For farms with meagre incomes facing hefty IHT bills and no tax planning, land sales may be the only option. That could be terminal for some family dynasties, but it would make IHT the final straw, rather than the root cause in an industry that, for far too many farmers, simply does not pay.

Business

A pub a day to close this year, industry body warns as it calls for cut to tax burden

Published

1 hour ago

July 10, 2025

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A pub a day to close this year, industry body warns as it calls for cut to tax burden

An industry body has warned that the equivalent of more than one pub a day is set to close across Great Britain this year.

According to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), an estimated 378 venues will shut down across England, Wales and Scotland.

This would amount to more than 5,600 direct job losses, the industry body warns. It has called for a reduction in the cumulative tax and regulatory burden for the hospitality sector – including cutting business rates and beer duty.

The body – representing members that brew 90% of British beer and own more than 20,000 pubs – said such measures would slow the rate at which bars are closing.

BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin said that while pubs are trading well, “most of the money that goes into the till goes straight back out in bills and taxes”.

“For many, it’s impossible to make a profit, which all too often leads to pubs turning off the lights for the last time,” she said.

“When a pub closes, it puts people out of a job, deprives communities of their heart and soul, and hurts the local economy.”

She urged the government to “proceed with meaningful business rates reform, mitigate these eye-watering new employment and EPR (extended producer responsibility) costs, and cut beer duty”.

“We’re not asking for special treatment, we just want the sector’s rich potential unleashed,” she added.

The government has said it plans to reform the current business rates system, saying in March that an interim report on the measure would be published this summer.

From April, relief on property tax – that came in following the COVID-19 pandemic – was cut from 75% to 40%, leading to higher bills for hospitality, retail and leisure businesses.

The rate of employer National Insurance Contributions also rose from 13.8% to 15% that month, and the wage threshold was lowered from £9,100 to £5,000, under measures announced by Rachel Reeves in the October budget.

Business

Trump fires tariff threats at more nations as EU ‘ready for all scenarios’

Published

13 hours ago

July 9, 2025

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Trump fires tariff threats at more nations as EU 'ready for all scenarios'

Donald Trump has revealed a list of more nations set to face delayed ‘liberation day’ tariffs from 1 August.

He has threatened tariffs of 30% on Algeria, 25% on Brunei, 30% on Iraq, 30% on Libya, 25% on Moldova and 20% on the Philippines. Sri Lanka was later told it faced a 30% duty.

Letters setting out the planned rates – and warning against retaliation – are being sent to the leaders of each country.

Money latest: HMRC issues 600,000 fines to people who owe no tax

They were the latest to be informed of the president‘s plans after Japan and South Korea were among the first 14 nations to be told of the rates they must pay on their general exports to the US from 1 August.

The duties are on top of sectoral tariffs, covering areas such as steel and cars, already in place.

Mr Trump further warned, on Tuesday, that a 50% tariff rate on all copper imports to the US was looming.

He has also threatened a 200% rate on pharmaceuticals and is also expected to take aim at all imports of semiconductors too.

The European Union, America’s largest trading partner in combined trade, services and investment, is expected to get a letter within the next 48 hours unless further progress is made in continuing talks.

The bloc, which Mr Trump has previously claimed was created to “screw” the US, has been in negotiations with US officials for weeks and working to agree a UK-style truce by the end of the month.

The EU has retaliatory tariffs ready to deploy from 14 July but it is widely expected to delay them until such time that any heightened US duties are imposed.

It remains hopeful of a deal in the coming days but European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament: “We stick to our principles, we defend our interests, we continue to work in good faith, and we get ready for all scenarios.”

While the UK’s so-called deal with Mr Trump is now in force, it remains unclear whether steelmakers will have to pay a 50% tariff rate, deployed by the US against the rest of the world, as some final details on an exemption are yet to be worked out.

The rate is currently 25%.

Business

Nvidia wins race to become first $4trn listed company

Published

16 hours ago

July 9, 2025

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Nvidia wins race to become first trn listed company

Nvidia has become the first stock market-listed company to achieve a value of $4trn.

Its share price rose by more than 2% at the market open on Wall Street to reach the milestone moment.

It was achieved just over a year since Nvidia overcame the $3trn barrier and overtook Apple, in market cap terms, in the process.

The AI-focused chipmaker has been the darling of Wall Street for many years.

Money latest: HMRC issues 600,000 fines to people who owe no tax

The value of its shares has risen by 409,825% since its market debut in 1999.

Its status has been cemented thanks to the rush for AI technology – suffering several wobbles along the way – but nothing significant when you refer to the percentage rise of the past 26 years.

The most recent pressures have come from the emergence of the low-cost chatbot DeepSeek and concerns for global AI demand as a result of Donald Trump’s trade war hitting growth.

Financial markets have been taking a more risk-on approach to the trade war since the delays to “liberation day” tariffs in April.

It’s explained by a market trend that’s become known as the TACO trade: Trump always chickens out.

It has helped US stock markets post new record highs in recent days.

The wave of optimism is down to the fact that the president is yet to follow through with the worst of his threatened tariffs on trading partners.

Corporations are also yet to report big hits to their earnings – a fact that is also propping up demand for shares.

If Mr Trump does go all-out in his trade war, as he has now threatened from 1 August, then that $4trn market value for Nvidia – and wider stock markets – could be short-lived, at least in the short term.

But market analysts believe Nvidia’s value has further to go.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said of its meteoric rise: “Once known for powering video games, NVIDIA has transformed into a foundational player in AI infrastructure.

“Its high-performance chips now drive everything from natural language processing to robotics, making them essential to training and deploying advanced AI models.

“Beyond hardware, its full-stack ecosystem – including software platforms and developer tools – helps companies scale AI quickly and efficiently. This end-to-end approach has positioned Nvidia as a cornerstone in a market where speed, scalability, and efficiency are critical.”

He added: “The key question is where it goes from here, and while it might seem strange for a company that’s just passed the $4trn mark, Nvidia still looks attractive.

“Growth is expected to slow, and it’s likely to lose some market share as competition and custom solutions ramp up. But trading at a relatively modest 32 times expected earnings, and over 50% top-line growth forecast this year, there’s still an attractive opportunity ahead.

“For investors, it remains a compelling way to gain exposure to the AI boom – not just as a participant, but as one of its architects.”